My Disney Vacation, M to P

My Disney Vacation, A to F
My Disney Vacation, G to L

M is for Mater
As in, Tow Mater, and Lightnin McQueen. We saw they were taking character pictures on Monday, our first day in Disney-MGM Studios. The line was long, but we thought, "Hey, get in line, maybe we'll get lucky". Unfortunately, there was a Cast Member at the end of the line, telling us they closed the line... and we didn't even see Mater or Lightnin'.

So, when we went back on Saturday to MGM, we planned our day around the heroes from Cars. We saw on the Times Guide, the little slip of paper updated daily to tell you when shows will be performed, where characters will be at what time, and any other fun events around the parks, that Cars would be on the Streets of America around 330ish, so we showed up around 245 to find a few people already there. The PhotoPass people (the park photographers that take your picture in front of various Disney monuments, ie the castle, Spaceship: Earth, other scenic locales, and hand you a PhotoPass card that allows you to go online and view and buy your pics) were there taking pictures of the San Francisco backdrop.

We had our picture taken, then helped form the Cars line with three or four other families. By 320, ten minutes before the Cars appeared, the line was around the corner, and barriers had been put up to prevent people from just hopping/skipping the line and the line was probably closed. The Cast Members were great, as they were like Nazis in keeping the line in order. They informed the audience that anyone could come up to the barriers to take pictures, but only those in line could go closer, and get with the characters.



And then, we heard the roar of the engines as Lightnin' McQueen and Mater appeared, rolling slowly around the corner. Steph and I were like little kids, giggling at the sight of the two, and marveling at how cool they really looked. And they looked cool. Naturally, they didn't have the mobility and movement that animation lends them, but their eyes moved back and forth, and Mater's engine rocked back and forth. It was absolutely cool.

The other fun thing to watch was how people were walking up randomly, and even trying to merge into the opening of the barriers, where people who had waited patiently for 45 minutes were going to get in to get pictures. One guy walked up, kid next to him, and hollered back to someone, "Hey, those Cars cars are here! Come on!", and then he actually tried to step in front of me. I simply said, "Hey man, the line is right here, and starts waaaay back." He turned around, frowned at me, and stepped back.



So, finally, we got up and go to get our pictures. Add them to the collection of cool photographs we have from the week.

N is for No Sleep
That's the truth. In an average week, I probably get... I dunno, 45 hours of sleep. I figure an average of 6 hours per night, maybe one night I only get 4 1/2, another night I sleep late and get 8 or 9, but I figure 42 to 45 hours. This week, I think I got about 30.

O is for Overeating
Holy crap, there was so much food. When you go on your weeklong Disney vacation, you'll want to do the Disney Dining Plan. It gives you a certain amount of "counter service" (walk up, order food, get it and sit down), "snack" (usually yogurt, fruit, ice cream, something you can eat while you go) and "table service" (a sit down meal, typically with a server) meals. As a rule, I've found that the character meals are table services.


The Campbell clan after finishing Thanksgiving at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom

My favorite meals include:
**The Cinderella Storybook Dinner at the Grand Floridian's 1900 Park Fare Restaurant, starring a very toothy Cinderella, Prince Charming and Lady Tremaine. Buffet style, it featured a fantastic prime rib, and Steph Leann's much heralded strawberry soup.
**Planet Hollywood, in Downtown Disney. Good stuff. We ate their our first night in the area, and I had a big, fat mushroom & swiss cheese burger.
**The Yak & Yeti, in Animal Kingdom, which you'll read about later.
**And my favorite, Le Cellier, in EPCOT's Canada Showcase, which you've already read about

P is for Pin Trading
Oh, how we love the pins. Here's the story... Disney has always had pins for sale and trade. In DisneyLand, in California, they started trading them as a hobby, but when it hit Walt Disney World in Orlando, it took off full force.


Our pin board, after the trip. I would say our collection was probably 70% overturned.

You typically have to start by obtaining a lanyard and some pins for trade, usually by buying them. Ours was given to us as part of our honeymoon package in 2004. You wear the lanyards, and when you see other people with pins on, wearing the lanyards gives you the right to ask about their pins. If you want, you can offer a trade. Perhaps they are trying to complete a set of pins that you happen to have one of, one that you'll know you'll never get a set of, but they have a great Goofy pin that you like. Offer the trade. Sometimes they'll take it, sometimes they won't.

Cast members wear two types of lanyards. The first, a blue lanyard, means that you can trade for whatever they have, provided they don't already have the one you are trading. This is an excellent way to pick up rare pins, pins for sets and such. The second, a green lanyard, means that they only trade with kids. However, sometimes you'll find a Cast Member who will trade no matter what... as long as you are nice about it. Sometimes not, though. I found a great Frozone pin that was on a green lanyard, and she wouldn't trade.


The "Topiary" pins Stephanie was collecting. She got the entire collection this week.

A great little story.... we were just outside of Buzz Lightyear, and a Cast Member had a green lanyard, with a "safety pin". The Safety Pin Series is a 12 or 13 pin set featuring Timon and Pumbaa, doing the safety rules, like "keep your paws behind the yellow line" and "don't sit on the rail" and such. Anyway, this guy had one that Steph Leann, who has been collecting them since 2004, didn't have. I ask the guy if he would be willing to trade with a "kid at heart", and he said it was only for kids. Now, my other option is to ask Madeleine, 10, to come in and trade for it, though that seems kinda low. I figure I'm just going to tell Steph about it, and let her figure it out.

Ruth, Steph's mom, announces very loudly, "Well, why don't you get Madeleine to come in and get it?!?" I sigh, and the Cast Member perks up, suddenly on alert. I walk outside where Madeleine and some of the family is. I don't know if I told her, or Ruth told her or whatever, but Madeleine disappears, and a few minutes later, the Cast Member comes out with the Safety Pin, and a couple of 1 Million Dreams Tinkerbell Pins, asking me if I could give this to "the little girl who came in looking for the pin." Then he gives me this look of disgust, like I'm the scum of the Earth, for a pin that I didn't want, Steph gets the pin, Madeleine gets the special Tinkerbell pin and I get an angry Cast Member. Them's the breaks.


Somehow, I managed to get Tinkerbell pins, and somehow, I managed to find them cool. And yes, I'm totally straight. Everyone, including Cast Members, asked me about the one in the upper left corner, cause its hard to find.

Some pin trading tips... its okay to buy pin sets to break up and trade. Steph Leann and I did that several times. However, pay attention to what's on lanyards. The "baby mickey" pins were all the rage in sets, and I bought one of those sets, only to find myself in a situation where I wanted a pin from a Cast Member, but he had all the "baby mickey" pins I had, so I had to give him another one.

Also, in each park, go to Guest Relations and ask for the Pin Book. They don't advertise it, but it's a big book behind the counter featuring pins that sometimes are hard to find. You are allowed to trade up to 2 pins per person.

"Hidden Mickey's" are the new thing. "Cast Lanyard Pins" pins are pins you can't buy, given only to Cast Members for trading. The story goes that people were complaining because it was hard to find Cast Lanyard Pins, which is stupid because The Lovely Steph Leann and I both have tons of them, so a year or two ago, they released Hidden Mickey pins, to help people find Cast Exclusives. You can buy a few Hidden Mickey's, but its only one pin in a set, like the Monorail Hidden Mickey Pin--you can purchase one. You have to find the other 7.

Personally, I could care less about Hidden Mickey's. I like Hercules pins, Incredible pins and somehow, I've managed to collect a bunch of Tinkerbell pins.

Its can be an expensive hobby, but its tons of fun. In every picture you'll see of The Lovely Steph Leann and I, you'll see our lanyards, and from one picture to the next, our pins change.

Coming Soon... S is for Soarin', U is for Unlimited Refills... and Why Disney is Better than Six Flags

My Disney Vacation, G to L

For those of you who missed the beginning, here's the start of my 2007 Family Walt Disney World vacation A to Z... you can scroll down or you can click here to read A to E.

F is for Fast Pass
How in the world did we ever do a vacation without a fast pass? I mean, its like the miracle paper of the park. You walk up, toss your card/ticket in the machine, and out pops a little slip of paper telling you when you can come back to ride a particular ride. Some rides, like Stitch's Great Escape, never really needed one... others, like Test Track and Soarin', you had to have one to avoid a 100 minute or longer wait.

We decided to hop onto Everest, the first ride we were on on the first day in the park, and skip the fast pass, as we were there upon opening, and immediately headed to Everest (like nearly everyone else). Ditto for Soarin', when we went to Epcot on Tuesday. But we needed them in the Magic Kingdom on Sunday, when Peter Pan's Flight suddenly took 90 minutes to get to. Who the heck wants to wait an hour and a half for freakin' Peter Pan? I'm just sayin'.

The true test of the Fast Pass came in Epcot on Tuesday. As soon as Soarin' was over, I grabbed cards and ran over to get passes for Mission: Space and for Test Track. Within the next hour or two, the line for Test Track was out of the building and at least 30 or 40 yards past the opening of the queue line. We got them early, because by 11am or so, the Fast Pass tickets were good for 7pm to 8pm, and by noon or so, the passes were all gone. So after 11ish, or whenever our passes came up, we got in the Fast Pass return line, waited about 15 minutes, and was done with it.

When we returned to Epcot, I grabbed the Lovely Steph Leann's card and headed to The Lands, to get passes for Soarin'... and it took me forever--you'll hear that story when we get to "S".

A little trick... just cause it says 105pm, to 205pm. We're in Germany or Morocco or wherever, and realize our passes are going to expire in about twenty minutes for Soarin'. So, we high tail it across the entire park, past at least five of the countries and two bridges, through the crowds and get in in just the nick of time... only to have the Cast Member say "oh, these would have been good until at least 5 o'clock!". Tell that to Steph's swollen ankles.

G is for Genie
Loved this guy. So, at Epcot on Friday, we're in line for pictures with Jasmine, Aladdin and Genie, and we're near the middle or back. Jasmine and Aladdin leave for a break, leaving only the Genie, and they announce "Whoever wants to get pictures with only Genie, you can come forward. Those of you who want to get Jasmine and Aladdin, please step back." Well, lucky for us, we've already met Jasmine and Aladdin, the night before in the Magic Kingdom, so we come forward, right behind these two high school chicks.

So High School Chick 1 and Chick 2 both step forward to get their pictures, and Genie grabs High School Chick 1 for a hug. And then he just stands there, blue fuzzy arms wrapped around her. She hugs back, but he doesn't let go. He stands there motionless, in a hug, for at least 30 seconds, causing all of us to laugh. Then, just as fast as he grabbed High School Chick 1, he lets go and grabs High School Chick 2. He hugs her, and just stands there. Steph and I, and by now, High School Chick 2, think its hilarious.


Oh, that crazy Genie...

Suddenly, he lets go of High School Chick 2, and races over and grabs Stephanie for his long lasting hug. Keep in mind both Chick 1 and Chick 2 are still waiting for their picture. I laugh, and he gives me the thumbs up, still in an embrace with my wife. He finally lets go, then holds a hand out to shake. I start to shake his hand, and he grabs me and hugs me. Meanwhile, the Moroccan band Mo'Rockin (get it? clever, though at first I was hoping Mo Rocca was doing some sort of Middle Eastern stand up show) is playing in the background, and Genie is dancing. One of the most fun characters we got to meet all week.

H is for Holidays at Disney
You gotta admire the fact they go all out at Disney. Seriously. Lights everywhere, music everywhere, everything from lampposts to big statues and structures are all decked out in mistletoe and holly and lights and ornaments and garland and ribbon and gold and silver and green and red and snowflakes and more lights and wreaths and trees and Santas and angels and stars and shiny things and so on, all with a little Disney touch.


Epcot lights, with the Spaceship Earth in the background


I know, I know, it looks like the crowd from 2002's Its a Wonderful Deuce Christmas, but actually its Main Street in the Magic Kingdom

I'd never been to Walt Disney World during the holiday season, but I'd like to go back soon enough.

I is for Incredibles
Everyone has their favorite characters, and their favorite characters they like to meet. I think Steph really liked meeting Piglet, and both of us were giddy for Mater and Lightnin' McQueen, but for my money, when we had a chance to meet up with Mr. Incredible and ElastiGirl at Disney-MGM on Monday, it was just cool.

Right before us, another girl came up, being pushed in her stroller by her parents. The girl was a special needs child, you could tell just from looking at her, and we gladly gave our turn to the family. It was great to watch Mr. Incredible and ElastiGirl get on one knee, both giving her tons of attention, stroking her hair, holding her hand and such. That's what you're supposed to do.



And it made for a great picture with us.

J is for Jokes at the Laugh Floor
This show was just funny. As you might recall, in Monsters Inc, the city of Monstropolis needs children's laughter, not screams, to keep power and energy flowing. So, the theme of this Tomorrowland (Magic Kingdom) "ride", or show is we're all hustled into the auditorium, the Monsters are doing stand-up, and we are all laughing to fill a Laugh Canister. The Monster of Ceremonies is, naturally, Mike Wazowski, the one eyed green monster voiced by Billy Crystal in the movie. Appearing with Mike Wazowski is Roz, the scratchy voiced, spectacled supervisor (haaaa haaaa haaaa).

The trick of the whole show, though, is that its interactive animation. On the screen, they talk to the audience, ask questions and even use jokes submitted by the audience. You can tell the mouths of the characters don't quite match all the words, but its still close, and remarkable all the same. The first time we went, I got to talk to them, and the second time we went, they used one of my jokes ("Didja hear about the mushroom who had no friends? He couldn't understand it... he thought he was just a fun-gi"). Even though I knew some of the one liners, the show was just as good the second time as the first.

K is for Kilimanjaro Safari
Located in Animal Kingdom, in Africa, its hit or miss with this ride. When the Lovely Steph Leann and I went in 2004 on our honeymoon, we went early in the morning, and got an upclose and personal picture of a giraffe, and a few others. This time around, going a little later in the day, it started slowly, but we got lucky to have our safari vehicle stopped by two rhinos crossing the road.


The mother rhino, protecting her rhino kid... cub... youngling... whatever

I've always heard to go early in the day, maybe mid-morning, because the animals are up and feeding. Mid to late afternoon is harder because most of the animals are being lazy... unless you're the lions, who I think are always lazy, laying on the rock. We got a great view of the elephants as well as several good views of the bird life. The hippos were hidden by the water.

L is for Le Cellier
Simply the best restaurant in all of Walt Disney World. Okay, so, I have only been to about a dozen of the billion (okay, I don't know how many, but here's a list if you want to count them), but I know its got to be at the top. Located in the Canada area of Epcot, its a steak and seafood place that the Lovely Steph Leann and I fell in love with on our 2004 honeymoon. We insisted that the family go this time around, and it didn't disappoint.

From the Le Cellier menu, I had Canadian Chedder Cheese Soup (featuring smoked bacon and Moosehead beer), for my entree, I went with the 14 ounce New York Strip steak, complete with roasted Yukon mashed potatoes (with a side of delicious oven-roasted wild mushrooms), and for dessert, I indulged in the Vanilla Creme Brulee. Some of the other food items on the table were the Prince Edward Island Mussels (Ron), the Mushroom Filet Mignon (Ruth), the Chocolate Whiskey Cake (Steph).

The only problem? Too much food. I tried to eat it all, I really did... but the food just kept coming, and my stomach was only so big. The service was fantastic, and it was a great way to toss down a $108 meal for the two of us... being on the Disney Dining Plan, though, it didn't matter that much. We'll get to that.

Coming soon... M is for Mater... Q is for Queue Lines... and Y is for Yak & Yeti

My Disney Vacation, A to E

Since it would take me about 10,000,000 words and three weeks to blog each day, I thought I would break down our sensational vacation to Walt Disney World in 26 steps. One for each letter.

The set up... The Lovely Steph Leann and I traveled with Steph's parents, Ron & Ruth, in the big Yukon SUV. To heck with global warming. Traveling behind us was The Lovely Steph Leann's sister Angie, Angie's husband Randy and their two kids, Madeliene, 10, and Benjamin, 6. So, in a recap of 26 letters, here's our Disney Vacation, 2007.

A if for All Star Resorts
I love the All Star Resorts There are three, the All Star Music, the All Star Sports and the one we stayed in, All Star Movies. As nice as I'm sure the Animal Kingdom Lodge is, and we've seen the lobby portions of the Polynesian, the Contemporary and the Grand Floridian and assume they are awesome too, Disney rooms are mostly good for one thing... sleep. As long as the bed, the shower and the sink is clean, why spend a fortune on a room that you'll only spend perhaps six hours a day in, and you'll be asleep then anyway? At least for us, that's what we did. Spent all day in the park, sometimes late into the night, came back to the All Star Movies, room 5853, collapsed, and dragged ourselves up sometimes four hours later.


The All Star Movies is broken into several sections, including Toy Story, 101 Dalmations, Herbie the Love Bug and where we stayed, Fantasia. No the movie, not that obnoxious screechy voiced American Idol chick.

B is for Beast (how not to get a picture)
The Lovely Steph Leann and I love character pictures. So, naturally, when we saw that Beast was with Belle, we got in line. Having already taken a picture with Belle at a breakfast a few days before, we were excited because I don't know that we've even taken a picture with the Beast. Here we are in line, we get a few families from the front, and its announced that Beast is going to be leaving, but will be back in 30 minutes, and Belle will stay. So we made the decision to not stick around, and walked down EPCOT.

A little while later, we hopped back in line for Beast, knowing that he had a few more minutes to return. He did return, in all his hairy, thick, probably sweltering costume splendor. And again, we got a few families from the front--two, I think--and it was announced that Beast would be leaving again to return in 30 minutes. Sigh. At this point, we couldn't wait around, because we had fast passes for Soarin', a ride that's very, very hard to get into, so we left the line again. And never got our Beast picture.

C is for Cast Members
The people who work for Disney don't work on the "floor", they work on a "stage". The backroom is not a "backroom", it's a "backstage". And employees are not employees, they are "Cast Members", who are putting on a show on "stage", be it as a character, or a show performer or a cashier. The Cast Members are awesome. All are informative, all are fun to talk to, just about everyone took an interest in pins that The Lovely Steph Leann and I had on, and we have many conversations about them and other things. There were a few that were in a hurry, or you could tell were having a bad day, but they were few and far between. You can tell they love their jobs, even the bus drivers, even though the pay isn't all that good.

D is for Digital Camera
Last summer, I saved up my bonus, and went to Best Buy to get me a camera. You may remember me chronicling the event in the column Amberly & the Digital Sell. And it worked just like I wanted it to... I wanted a camera I could carry in my pocket, load pictures onto a computer, take multiple snaps of the same thing and get rid of the ones that don't work. And my Sony Cybershot was perfect.

Random story... the first night we were there, my battery was dying, and I couldn't remember if I had packed the battery charger. When we arrived at All Star Movies, I opened up the luggage, and felt around, and couldn't find it... which meant the Lovely Steph Leann and I decided to go to Best Buy to get another one. I mean, what, $30? $40? And Best Buy was right up the road, right? We just passed a shopping center with Target, Best Buy, Kohls and more. So while the rest of the family went up to Planet Hollywood at Downtown Disney, we hopped in the Yukon and was going to Best Buy. And we got so lost. Seriously.

We thought it was right up the parkway, then take a turn on the right and down that way, but as we went 'down that way' a little farther than we thought, we realized we didn't know where we were. It took us several minutes to even figure out which direction we came in from... the area map we were given didn't help us none, and after stopping at two Wal-Greens, plus about 5,388 turn arounds, we found it. I spent $65 on a Sony 3x Charger, the only one available for my camera. And then we discovered if we had gone straight, right on Osceola Parkway, we would have come across it quickly.

Then, to add insult to lost-ness, after dinner at Planet Hollywood (which was really good), I found my charger under some shirts in my luggage. Thankfully, I had not opened the new one, but we lost the receipt over the course of the week. Yahoo.


Working the settings on my camera, I was able to take great shots of various things, like the castle.

E is for Everest
Its the newest ride in Animal Kingdom, called Expedition: Everest. On our first full day in Walt Disney World, it was Animal Kingdom we went to first, and we, like most everyone else, headed to the land of Asia to get on Everest. One of the great things about Disney is the theme and atmosphere they set up for the ride, this being a large mountain where a giant Yeti lives and terrorized climbers and visitors.


Everest looms large, as we approached it. The ride is in the mountain and around.

We were actually near the front, and the ride was so-so for the first part. It trundles through a few twists and turns, and then hits a point where it stops, right before a big piece of track that is all mangled and ripped up. I'm thinking we're about to plummet forward, but we don't... we go backwards. And fast. The ride takes off backwards, then goes forward again later, and rips through the mountain at all sorts of banks and speeds. In a word, Awesome.


On the ride. That's Ron Campbell in the front, arms outstretched, as we are about to enter the mountain.

There was supposed to be a big animatronic Yeti who swoops down over the coaster, but we heard it wasn't working. Instead, we got the shadow. This was taken in the middle of the ride, right as its about to go forward again.

Coming soon... F is for Fast Pass... L is for Le Cellier... S is for Soarin'... and W, for Why Disney is Better than Six Flags

Off to Disney!!

Well, after knowing the trip was coming for at least seven or eight months, tomorrow myself, the Lovely Steph Leann, Ma Ruth, Pa Ron, and Steph Leann's sister's family, Randy, Angie, Madeleine and Benjamin, will all head to Orlando, Florida. Brother in law Tyler joins the family after classes let out on Wednesday.

With that comes the unknowing future of blogging over the next week. It might be the day after Thanksgiving, and you might still see this message... or it might be the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and you might see three posts... I'm going to try to blog from Disney, complete with pictures, but we'll see what happens with the internet access down there.

So, if I can, I'll talk to you shortly. If I can't, then expect a full update the last week of November!

High Maintenance in the Starbucks World (and other frivolities of the life of Dave)

You know, if you're in a Starbucks, be aware of your surroundings.

Case in point... yesterday afternoon, we were busy. It's getting colder, Christmas time is in the air, and more and more people are coming to Starbucks... here's why:

Maintenance. When its hot, and you want refreshment, you come to Starbucks for a frappuccino. Or Brusters for ice cream. Or Smoothie Planet/Tropical/King for a smoothie. Or Sonic for a Sonic Blast. Or Dairy Queen for a Blizzard. A ton of choices, which is why most sales go down during the hotter months.

But when its cold, where do you for hot chocolate, lattes or something to keep you warm? Starbucks. Oh, I'm sure there are other places to go as well, but Starbucks is one of the best places to go.

So, we're busy... three of us on the floor, I'm running the front register, but I need to hope over to help out in Drive Thru, because four cars just pulled in at the same time. I figure I'm just going to get these next two customers at the register and then I'll jump over to DT and save the day.

"Is that peppermint mocha good?" asks the old lady at the register.

"Its really good. I hope you like peppermint, though, because it is... well, pepperminty," I replied with a smile.

"Well, then I'll take one of them in a grande size. And give me one of them pumpkin breads out of the food case here," she asks.

"Alright, thats a grande peppermint mocha and a piece of pumpkin loaf," I said, "and that will be [ringing up] $5.91"

"5.91?? Why is it $5.91??" she stammered.

"Well, it's $3.48 for the peppermint mocha and $1.95 for the pumpkin loaf, plus tax," I replied, getting a little anxious. In the background, there's a woman and her son. The woman is picking up mug after mug after mug. Her son is picking up the stuffed bears, "Bearista Bears" they call them, out of the basket and piling them on a table.

"Well, I'll just take care of it then," she said, opening up her billfold. When she opens up the pocket, I see the glisten of coins. Lots of coins. Being with this company for five years, I knew what was coming next... I cringed as she said, "I'm just going to get rid of some of this change here."

She began to count out five dollars and ninety-one cents in various coinage pieces. Meanwhile, Kelly is in the drive thru getting killed. And the bar person is going to down in flames.

Finally she gets all of her change out, and I snap it up, handing her the pumpkin loaf and smling as I let her know her drink will be ready in a moment. Immediately, the lady behind her hands me a tumbler. "Here, hold this. Your a man, you can tell me how it feels," she says as she quickly turns back to the wall shelves to grab another.

The kid's bear pile is becoming quite high by now, nay, almost admirable. The beep is a constant sound in the headset in my ear, signifying another car, then another car, then another car in the drive thru.

The lady comes back to the counter with three tumblers. "What do you think?" she asked.

"Well," I answered, looking at the fat tumbler in my hand, "I like this one, but my issue with is that it won't fit into a car cupholder, so it depends on what he'll be using it for."

"Yeah, you're right," she says, standing there with four cups, looking at each. Remember, all of this has happened in the span of about five minutes, where I could normally shoot through about twelve customers or more.

I smiled, nod towards the pyramid of stuffed bears, and said, "Your son is quite the architect there." She looked over, sighed, and said, "Put those back." Her son obeyed, and put... two back. She grabbed on, grabbed a small stuffed penguin, piled them on the counter and said, "I'll take these."

I rang up all four tumblers, a small stuffed penguin and the Bearista Christmas Bear. "That'll be $74.03," I said, running the credit card she handed me. I bagged everything up, handed her the bags, thanked her and she was on her way. And just like that, the rush was over.

Now, what have we learned?

When you come into a Starbucks, its okay to take your time. It's okay to be in a hurry. We have customers in both catagories. But, be aware. Life does not revolve around you. You are given our full attention for a very brief time, so when you get that attention, don't take it for granted. Cause, there are lots of other people around who also want our full attention.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I get to go give blood this morning. My buddy Ryan, and my buddy Rad-a-Tad too, works for the Red Cross, and anytime they have a big event, I try to go give. Lifetime, I've given two gallons and three pints, so I'm working towards three gallons lifetime.

Everyone has their blood donating horror stories... the first time I gave, it was in the Samson High School gym. We had blood races, with the guys pumping their fists on that hard plastic tube to make it flow faster. I never finished higher than 2nd.

My veins are pretty big. Nurses see them, they start drooling, then stand on the other side of the room and toss the needles in my arm. My worst experience? Well, two...

1) I was giving at Troy State, upstairs in the Adams Center student building. The line was really long, and I was running late for my freshman journalism 101 class, so as soon as I was done, I grabbed a rice krispy treat and ran... yes, ran... out the door.

For those of you who know Troy State, this is not a good thing. I dash down the stairs, out the Adams Center back doors, and then up the hill leading to Wallace Hall. Then, I run down the hill to the Wallace doors, then up three flights of stairs. I dashed into class at the last second, and sat down behind Miranda. Then the fact I just lost a pint of blood hit me.

"Whoa..." I whoozed. Miranda turned around, looked at me funny, and said, "You don't look so good."

2) I was giving on one of those mobile blood RVs, and the nurse had stuck the needle in. When she did, a little blood spurted out and got on the sleeve of my white shirt. "Oh dear," the nurse said, grabbing a little cloth. Then she started rubbing the blood spot on my sleeve, but as she did, her hand kept knocking the needle protruding from my arm. As it moved back and forth, stuck in my arm, it kinda hurt. "Um... uh, don't worry about the blood on my..." I stammered.

Not paying attention, she was talking to some other nurse, all the while, actually moving a needle that was sticking out of my veins. Not good times. Bad times, bad times.

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Sitting here watching "While You Were Sleeping", one of my favorite films. Yes, it will appear in the Dave100 somewhere along the way, once I get to it. And no, I haven't forgotten about the Dave100. Its a list that will make its way over the next few months.

Anyway, my little sister and I watched "Speed" the other night. We actually watched "Muriel's Wedding", which I was hoping I would like, and I did, but before either of us could move, or I could kick her out, "Speed" came on, and we were sucked in. We had a discussion about Sandra Bullock, who had her big breakout in this movie. Remember when both she and Meg Ryan were the absolute cutest things in the entire world? Back in the early 90s?

Well, "While You Were Sleeping" came on, and it reminded me of just how much I used to like Sandra Bullock. She has a Sydney Ellen Wade performance here, because there's not one time in the movie she doesn't look absolutely gorgeous. I had a friend in college named Jennifer Davis who smiled like Sandra Bullock. I think thats why Jennifer Davis was so hot.

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Speaking of hot chicks, I read in Entertainment Weekly that there's another sequel to "Gone With the Wind". The book, not the movie, but the book is coming. Anyway, the literary sequel is called "Rhett Butler's People", written by Donald McCaig.

I only mention this because they actually are planning a movie version. Apparently, in a poll, The Goddess is the most popular choice to play Scarlett O'Hara, narrowly edging out Rachel McAdams.

Now I have an issue... would I have to watch this movie? I mean, its associated with Gone With the Wind, which is normally something I don't associate with. But, I'll watch anything Ashley Judd in it. I mean, she's Ashley Judd. She's The Goddess. And she's been in some terrible, terrible movies. This might not be any different.

I guess Ashley is to me what Colin Firth is to The Lovely Steph Leann. Colin is president of the "Guys That Steph Wouldn't Leave Me For, but Would Hesitate Before Saying No" Club (who boasts members like Bradley Whitford and Patrick Dempsey). I guess Ashley is my own president, over members like Debra Messing and Kate Winslet.

Of course, none are Steph Leann. And like I tell Steph.... "I'm with you, not Ashley Judd, so what does that tell you?"

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Just got a message from my friend Tiffany Abbott (McCauley, or something like that, who knows), who was to Troy what Julie Wise was to high school. She tells me of the bathroom conditions at the Georgia/Troy game, which Georgia won... by only ten points, mind you.:

Georgia is in such a drought that they basically had signs posted at the football game bathrooms to the effect of "if it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down." There were employed restroom attendants whose job is was to do the flushing.

I laughed hard. Talk about your potty humor.


Can you believe that after knowing Tiffany Formerly Abbott for twelve years, this is really the only picture I have? So, I figured I would post it just for comedic effect.

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And finally, if you're in Tuscaloosa and you want some BBQ, don't go to Dreamland. Go to Archibalds. I was helping train new Starbuckians for the new store in T'town last week, and decided to visit my brother-in-law Tyler on campus, and his roomdawgs, Trey, Jonathan and Stephen. After killing time and watching two or three episodes of "Family Guy", we were hungry. I suggested Archibalds.

I don't know where I'd heard it, but I had heard it was really, really good. It was later I realized that I had seen it on ESPN's College GameDay, where Todd Blackledge has a weekly segment where he visits local restaurants and such.

Anyway, after Tyler drove us around in circles for 30 minutes, we found it. It's this hole in the wall restaurant, where Archibald, this large, old black man, serves BBQ out of the pit that's actually in the wall. The building itself is really not bigger than a regular trailer.


Stephen, Jonathan, Trey, Archibald, myself and Tyler. Oh, Archibald is the big black man in the middle.

But the food was cheap. And FANTASTIC. For just over 8 bucks, I got a big plate with four ribs and a BBQ pork sandwich, and a 20 ounce Mountain Dew. None of us, not me, nor Stephen, nor Jonathan, nor Tyler, nor Trey said much as we chomped our food.

Seems the place has been around for at least 47 years, when he took over for his daddy. He laughed heartily, and seemed to enjoy the fact we were a bunch of young bucks--even me--eating in his restaurant. A good time was had by all.

And I was full. And it was nice.

The Golden Compass preview

I'm naive to think all of my readers, the dozen or two they may be, are Christ-followers, and in fact, some of the following may be music to some of your ears. But, I am a believer in Christ, so I figured I'd give you the following info about a great looking Christmas movie coming up.

And no, its not a copy-and-pasting forward--its all typed out by my own ten fingers.

So, there's a kids movie coming out called "The Golden Compass", starring Nicole Kidman, that looked like it would be pretty good... so, while we were sitting here watching "The Amazing Race", and the trailer/commercial for the movie came on. The Lovely Steph Leann, sitting next to me, just pipes up and says "You know the guy who wrote those books is like, an athiest, and the books that the movie is based on is totally anti-religious and anti-Christian." (this is paraphrasing, but you get the gist)


Doesn't this look like a great movie? Maybe not.

Anyway, I went onto Snopes.com, which is a great resource for rumors and such, and here's what I found...

Essentially, the book "Northern Lights" (which was relased as "The Golden Compass" in America) is written by England's Philip Pullman, a hardcore athiest, and is the first in a trilogy called "The Dark Materials". He's a guy who professes that he doesn't think its possible there is a God, and, in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, said, "My books are about killing God". Christopher Hitchens, who wrote last year's best selling "God is Not Great", has said that the Dark Materials trilogy is a rebuttal to CS Lewis' Narnia series.

There are some religious leaders, such as the Arch Bishop of Canterbury, has said that Pullman's negative portrayal of the church is really an attack on dogmatism, and other Christian authors (Kurt Bruner, Jim Ware) say that despite his best efforts, Pullman's books "also uncover spiritual themes within the books, which, like shafts of light, break through an otherwise gloomy universe—despite Pullman's best efforts to keep them out. In the end, the authors argue that Pullman offers an unwitting tribute to the God he intended to discredit.".. ie, (what the enemy intended for evil... you know the rest)

From what I've read so far, I've figured out that the movie's writers have taken lots of the anti-Christian rherotic out of it, so as not to offend the ever larger Christian family market (and their money), but you know what happens when people love movies based on books? Many times, they want to read the book. And in this case, any book written about killing God is not a book I'll want my kids to read.

Here is the link for the Snopes.com article I'm basing this on... here is Phillip Pullman's Wikipedia page to read about the author... here's the synopsis of the book "Northern Lights", (that was made into "The Golden Compass")

In case you don't want to read all of the book synopsis, just know that "...in the trilogy, a young streetwise girl becomes enmeshed in an epic struggle to ultimately defeat the oppressive forces of a senile God. Another character, an ex-nun, describes Christianity as "a very powerful and convincing mistake." In the final book, characters representing Adam and Eve witness the death of "God" (who turns out to be an upstart angel, rather than the creator)."

Finally, here's an article from Peter Hitchens (no relation to the aforementioned Christopher, I don't think), who claims Pullman is the "one athiests would have prayed for, if they prayed"

Anyway, I'm not telling you to NOT go see this movie, or write letters to your congressmen or protest whatever, you guys can decide for yourself and your family as to whether you want to see this flick.

I just thought it might be good to have an idea of what you were putting your family and kids in front of. I have a feeling that Steph and I will put our hard earned money towards something with more meaning, like "Fred Claus".

The Raw Diaries

Hey, I'm back! Its been over a week, and I was trying to figure out what to write about tonight, since the longer you go without blogging, the more likely you are to lose your regular readership, so...

Tonight... its The WWE Raw Running Diary! Thats right, the Monday Night Raw wrestling event, as it happens!

8:01... it just came on, as usually we're treated to an opening segment with big stars like Shawn Michaels & Randy Orton challenging each other, typically resulting in the main event being set... tonight?

8:03... the WWE Divas are coming out, one by one. Honestly, I'm not a fan of the Divas, cause they really aren't that good looking, and most are plenty fake. I'm a real guy. So, tonight, we have a Diva battle royal. The way a battle royal works is, you toss 'em over the top to eliminate them.

8:04... if I had a favorite, which I don't, but if I did, it would probably me Mickie James, only because she looks just dorky enough to be hot. No one will ever top Stacy Keibler. She's the Ashley Judd of the wrestling world, though Stacy retired years ago to pursue acting. How's she doing now? Well, have you heard of her, besides wrestling? Exactly.

8:07... this is stupid


Stacy Keibler. Posted only for Michael's sake.

8:08... Kelly Kelly is the winner. And here comes the Women's Champion, Beth Phoenix, who is a flippin' horse. At least, with some of the Divas, I could consider them mildly attractive. With Beth Phoenix, there's nothing attractively redeeming about this chick. Dude. Whatever.

8:10... So, last night was CyberSunday, which was October's Pay-per-View.

For the uneducated, let me enlighten you. The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) used to be WWF (World Wrestling Federation) until the enviromental group WWF ( World Wildlife Fund) sued to get the rights to the acronym WWF. They won, so the WWF I'm watching became the WWE.

Anyway, they used to do four pay-per-view events per year, which was SummerSlam (August), Survivor Series (November), Royal Rumble (January), and the big one, which is like WWE's Daytona 500 and Super Bowl and Paula Maddox's 42nd birthday party all rolled into one, WrestleMania.

Some years ago, they added more and more Pay-per-Views until there was one each month, with names like No Mercy, Vengeance, No Way Out, Great American Bash and so on. Think of a name that could have doubled for a Steven Seagal movie and chances are good that it is, or at least was at one time, a WWE monthly event.

Anyway, last night was CyberSunday, which is where the fans can go online and vote for the match participants.

8:16... and live, from Philadelphia, we're back! And here comes one of the all time greats, Shawn Michaels. He's in his early 40s by now, he made it big as half of The Rockers back in the early 90s with Marty Janetti, and he's been on his own for a decade or so. He recently came back from back surgery (his back as always been an issue with him), but the great thing about Michaels is, he's a Believer, and he even discusses it on the show sometimes. His language is always clean, he does nothing with the Divas (he has said he always wants to honor his wife), and his autobiography is pretty good.

8:19... Michaels signature move is "Sweet Chin Music", a roundhouse kick to the face, one that he's used on Randy Orton, the reigning WWE champion. Randy Orton is a bad guy, a "heel" as they call it in wrestling. Shawn Michaels is a "face", short for "babyface", which means a good guy. When Randy Orton turned to the bad side some odd years ago, he "turned heel".

8:20... Shawn Michaels is calling out Randy Orton, but here comes the theme music to Mr. McMahon, who is the chairman of the WWE. Vince McMahon, in his 60s, owns the WWE, inheriting it from his family back in the 80s, but inserted himself in the late 90s as a heel character, and has been awesome ever since.

8:22... I feel like I'm explaining Lost.

8:23... McMahon and Michaels actually don't really get along in real life, but McMahon knows how valuable Michaels is to the company, and so there's a respect there. Of course, in the ring right now, McMahon and Michaels are staring each other down, and McMahon is baiting him. Vince is tossing out Scripture, the "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" scripture to get Michaels to admit he wants revenge on Orton (who, in the WWE kicked him in the head and knocked him out of the league, but in real life, it was due to the back injury).

8:25pm... By the way, "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" isn't a "I'm doing what he did to me!" verse... it actually was written in the law to keep judges from being too leini...

8:26... Shawn Michaels just layed out Vince with Sweet Chin Music. Where was I? Yeah, to keep judges from being too light or to harsh on sentences. As in, don't execute someone for stealing some bread, but don't go easy on a murderer. Figured this out this weekend in Sunday Sch... er, Life Connection.

8:29... Just saw a commercial for "Just For Men Hair Color". Ya know, people have asked me before why I don't color my hair, since its about 1/4 to a 1/3 grey by now. First of all, I don't really care that much, since grey is not a bad thing. One some women it looks great too. One of my friends moms used to have a grey streak that looked really, really cool until she colored it. Anyway, if I colored my hair, there would be way too many people that would notice that my hair wasn't grey, then I'd have to answer for it. I just don't care that much.

8:31... The first real match, 30 minutes into the show, features Hardcore Holly tagging up with Cody Rhodes, son of the legendary American Dream Dusty Rhodes. Or, as Dusty would say it, Amewican Dweam Duthty Rhwodes. Anyway, Holly and Cody are teaming up against Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin.

More WWE/wrestling education. Haas and Benjamin are what they call "Jobbers". This means that they have names, they have characters, but they are really there now to win or lose matches based on whatever story line is going on. As in, they are supporting characters in the story line, but its not about them. Cody Rhodes is getting what they call "A Push", which means storylines are written in his favor to "push" him up the popularity chain for the fans. And, jobbers like Haas and Benjamin are "pushing him over", as in, agreeing to lose to him to make him seem better for fans. This make sense?

Like any other company, it gets real political... some jobbers don't like being jobbers, and some don't like pushing other wrestlers over. A great example of this was a few years ago when Hulk Hogan was at the end of his career in the WCW (World Championship Wrestling, a great faction that folded when the people who actually owned it didn't have a clue what they were doing). Hogan refused to "push over" anyone, which causes resentment and bitterness in the locker room. For anyone who thinks its ALL scripted, I give you the infamous Montreal Screwjob.

8:41... Yes, wrestling is fake. However, the injuries are real... like the injury to Candice Michelle last week, when she fell off the top rope, and pretty much landed on her neck. She actually broke her collar bone in two places. I think they're featuring the Divas more tonight, because tonight is the end of the "Diva Search", one of those fan vote things to determine... well, who the next Diva is. But, alas, no Stacy Keibler. Come back, Stacy.

8:45... An exchange between the tag team champs Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. Unfortunately, there aren't any good tag teams now. Back in the day, we had The Rock & Roll Express, The Hart Foundation (Bret & Jim the Anvil), the British Bulldogs, Demolition (Ax and Smash. Crush didn't really exist), The Midnight Express, the Rockers, the Steiners, The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal)... now? We have Cade and Murdoch. And thats it. No rivalries. Sad, really.

The Hart Foundation, back when tag teams were really cool to root for

8:47... To describe a storyline, you'll hear the word "Angle". I say this only to tell you that I refuse to comment on the Hornswoggle angle, other than to say this is one of the worst angles ever. Ever. I can't write anymore.

8:53... Does anyone else think the burgers on those Hardees commercials look revolting?

8:54... For weeks, they've been showing this video clip with random bits of binary code, random numbers, a scripture from the book of Revelations and other fun stuff. The rumor is that Chris Jericho, also a Believer, is making his return. Jericho, or also called "Y2J", walked away two or three years ago to play music, act, appear in random "I Love the (fill in the decade)" Vh1 shows and so forth. It would be cool to see him come back.

8:55... Jonathan Coachmen is taking on Hornswoggle. Again, I refuse to comment.

8:56... however...

8:56... Mick Foley just came out as the "Special Guest Referee". Mick Foley, like Stone Cold Steve Austin, is a fan favorite, but due to serious injury, he's regulated to making appearances, doing well orchestrated, low impact wrestling moves and coming out as referees in matches I otherwise would not watch.

901... Hornswoggle wins, with the assistance of "Little Socko", courtesy of Special Guest Referee Mick Foley. Sigh. I won't say anything else about it.

902... Triple H is up now. This guy is so freakin' big... he's like, 320, 6'9... imagine Wookiee, but with long hair and nothing but muscles. He was one part of Degeneration X, along with Shawn Michaels, but he also was out since January (until August) with a knee injury. By the way, where to almost all the wrestlers comes for their orthoscopic surgeries and rehabs? Birmingham, Alabama, to Dr. James Andrews.

904... Triple H was originally called Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a character created to rival some other WCW...

...sidebar. To understand this statement, you have to know that from 1995 to 1999, there existed "The Monday Night Wars". It was WCW, which was on TBS and TNT cable channels, taking on WWE, on USA. For a while, WCW won the Monday Night Wars, with their premiere program, Monday Nitro, regularly beating WWF Monday Night Raw. But, as stated before, actual management, along with bad planning and terrible events and angles led to the utter demise of the WCW. I could go indepth in this, but won't for fear that right now, Alissa Kelly is yawning and about to go find something on Google. You can read about it here, which is actually a fascinating story of business, power and ego as much as it is wrestling.

...character that I don't remember. So, Hunter Hearst Helmsley was shortened to HHH, then to Triple H, and has been a dominate force since then. His theme music is Motorhead's "The Game", a kick guano song if there ever was one.

Here's some of the bigger stars of the WCW. On the left is Diamond Dallas Page, with Goldberg next to him. Goldberg was an animal, but again, was mismanaged. On the far right is then Booker T, one half of Harlem Heat, another great tag team, and the blond guy is Scott Steiner, or Big Poppa Pump, one half of the Steiner Brothers. He was also awesome... on steriods, but still. In the middle is the superstar of the WCW, Sting. Sting, also a Believer, refused to sign with the WWE after the WCW folded (even though everyone else in this picture did at one time or another). Sting said that he didn't like how raunchy WWE had become, and citing his beliefs and family, he walked away. WWE has since toned down their content in the last few years, which is why I started watching it again.

9:08... Paul London and some other guy that I can't remember are taking on Cade & Murdoch. I think they are trying to push London and the other guy... Brian Kendrick... but its not working because no one cares. Earlier, Cade and Murdoch were actually arguing, so its a possible "break up" angle, but again, no one cares.

912... And here comes The Highlanders, a face team when they first came in, and they were terrible... however, they turned heel over the summer, and they're actually a fun team to watch. They are still terrible, but a fun terrible.

916... Just saw the trailer for "The Mist", based on the Stephen King short story. An excellent story, by the way... the movie almost looks a little hokey, but its directed by Frank Darabont, who did both "The Green Mile" and "The Shawshank Redemption", which, along with "Misery" are the finest King movie adaptations. I'm intrigued.

918... Jeff Hardy, the current Intercontinental Champion, enters the ring. This guy is so all over the place... flying through the air, acrobatic, talented. He's being teamed with DH Smith, who is the son of the late Davey Boy Smith, one of my all time favorites, of the aforementioned British Bulldogs. So DH is getting a push too. They'll be taking on Carlito, who really had a chance to be big, but it didnt seem like he was angled very well. Carlito is joined by Mr. Kennedy, who I can't help but like. He usually does this microphone thing where he yells "Miiiiiiissttteeeerrrr Keeennnnaaaadddddeeeeeeeee!!!!" Its kinda cool.

922... Not having anything to do with Kennedy, Hardy, Carlito or DH Smith, but I'm wondering if they'll reunite Shawn Michaels and Triple H? Triple H is one the bad end of a 1-on-2 handicap match, taking on not only Randy Orton but also the Samoan Bulldozer, Umaga. Michaels and HHH, being the former Degeneration X before one, then the other got hurt, would be a great tag team again. Of course, they could feud, especially if one of them wins the championship.

930... The Lovely Steph Leann just came home from her Creative Memories meeting. Did you know its more than just pasting pictures in a book? There are dozens of ways to preserve your memories, including digital options, and digital scrapbooks! Makes great gifts for Christmas, and its a great hobby and lifestyle to dive into! Just click here for more information!

932... This is actually not a bad match. Lots of techinical wrestling, and by that, I mean actual moves and holds and such, not just flips and slams. Of course, Jeff Hardy just laid Carlito out using the Swanton Bomb, which has Hardy leaping from the top rope, flying through the air, doing a flip and landing with the upper back slamming into the head of the opponent.

938... Here comes one of the worst characters ever, Santino Morella. I liken this guy to Doink the Clown from the 90s. This guy is that bad, seriously. What's worse is that he's joined by Maria, supposedly good looking because she's a Diva, but she looks like she swallowed about six Atomic Fireball Sour Candies.

943... And its good that the Lovely Steph Leann is home... the winner of the Diva Search is next!

950... Eve wins it. Steph Leann was pulling for Brooke, I know, but Eve is the winner. Brooke actually looked better, I must admit.

951... Another mysterious code video.

952... Here comes the WWE champ Randy Orton.

sidebar... there are only a few belts in the WWE, the WWE Championship (Randy Orton), which is on Raw, the WWE World Championship (currently held by Batista) which is prominent on WWE"s other show, SmackDown! on Friday nights. The ECW on Tuesday night, also owned by WWE, has the ECW title belt. Each show, SmackDown!, Raw, and ECW, also called "Brands" has a title belt and a tag team belt.

One of the issues with WCW was the fact they had, from the best I remember, a WCW title, a World title, a World Tag Team title, a United States Tag Team title, a Cruiserweight title, a United States Title, a TV Title, a North American title... and this is on ONE show. And the belts changed hands in what seemed like every week, so no one knew who was what champion. One of the things I've liked about the WWE lately is that you keep a belt for a while. John Cena was the champion for the better part of three years, only giving up the belt due to a major shoulder injury that he ended up having surgery on (in Birmingham, by Dr James Andrews!) a few weeks ago.

Why the brands, and not just one big show? Well, its allows more superstars to be superstars, instead of all of them fighting on one show. They do interchange brands some times, as in, you'll see Rey Mysterio from SmackDown! take on someone from ECW on Monday Night Raw, but typically they are seperate. You do see all of them in the pay-per-views, though.

958... Its Umaga! His real name is Eddie Fatua, or something like that, but Umaga is this big, fat, face painted dude from "Samoa" who yells and screams alot, and has a finishing move called "The Samoan Spike", which causes him to ram his thumb into someones throat.

959... TIME TO PLAY THE GAME!!!!!! I am the game, you don't wanna play me, I am control, no way you can change me, I am your debts, no way you can pay me, I am the pain, and I know you can't take me... I am the Game and I want to play....

1001... Its The King of Kings... The Game... Triple H. Yeah, I kinda had an issue with "The King of Kings" too, but I figure if Christ Follower Shawn Michaels can deal with it, then I can too.

1002... HHH's signature move is called The Pedigree, and its slamming a guy's head, face down, between your knees, folding his arms behind his back, and picking him up and slamming him down back first. So, now, Umaga is taking it to HHH, while Orton circles and stomps. Of course, though, its the end of the show, so something will happen. This won't end just by a pin fall.

1003... SHAWN MICHAELS!! I KNEW IT!!! HBK is here!! (that's "The Heartbreak Kid", by the way). HHH and Michaels!!!! Michaels cleared the ring, Umaga tossed out, Orton tossed out....

1005... The parting shot has Mr. McMahon saying next Monday night, one night only, the return of Degeneration X.


Triple HHH in back, Shawn Michaels in the front, its DX.

1008... Alright, thats enough for one night. Green Bay is leading Denver 13-10 in the 4th, I have to pee, and this blog has gone on long enough. Good night kids.

The Barnes & Noble of Troy University, and other strange things on campus

This past weekend, I went to the first homecoming at Troy University since I'd left Troy for Birmingham back in 1998. They took on a terrible, terrible North Texas football team that they proceeded to beat down 45 to 7, even while turning the ball over 6 times.

Honestly, by the third quarter, I was kinda bored with the game. Most of the student section had cleared out, the end zone section we were in was beginning to thin, and the home side, filled with alumni and parents had begun to empty slightly.


Flecks of grey tussled through my hair, both I and Tom watch the game, though North Texas put up very little of a fight

What I could marvel at, however, was how much the place had really, truly changed in the 9 years since I had a class there. As someone put it, "It's becoming a real university!"

The traveling crew for gameday was myself, my buddy Tom (who is my former Deucemate), and Big Wookiee, who was my roommate for four years, and one of my best friends. We got there late morning, just missing the homecoming parade, and stopped by Wal-Mart so Wookiee could find a Troy flag to replace the tattered one that was on his truck.

We parked at the BCM, the Baptist Campus Ministry, and for me, it was surreal. Tom had never been there before, being a graduate of Samford here in Birmingham, and Wookiee wasn't a regular attender, but for me, it was my old stomping ground. Some of my most cherished friendships, relationships and memories stemmed from the walls of that place--Shelby Logan, Troy McConnell, Amy Alexander, Melanie Jackson, Eddie Hamner, and my best friend in college, Allyson Guy--and so walking through the doors again was... well, heartwarming.


Those BCM couches... terrible to sleep on (believe me, I tried) but great to hang out on (did that too)

I walked upstairs and looked at the couches, those same couches that ten years ago, I would sit on, skipping class to play Phase 10 with Kim Springer and Ink Hwang-Po, or to talk in sign language to Julie Haynes, or wonder if I'd ever find a chick as gorgeous as Tiffany Abbott (my sophomore crush--and I did, by the way).

I ran into Sharon Dobbins, who was sitting downstairs with a chick named Annie, whom I didn't remember at first, and by the time I did, I think she thought I was making up the fact that I remembered her. I also got to peruse the photo scrapbooks laid out on the table, one of which I made and took most of the pictures for.

I was hoping to talk to Rene, who graduated the year before I did at Samson High School, and truly one of the nicest people I've ever met. But, she wasn't there, and I never got to catch up with her.

Wookiee & Tom & I walked over to FarmHouse Fraternity, of which Wookiee was in the Beta pledge class (the 2nd) and I was in the Eta class (the 6th). Consider for me, this was 1995. I got to see old friends of mine from back in the day like Bob Spurgeon and his wife Betsy (and their kid!), Dave and Dana Bush (and their kids!), Warren and Melissa Whittaker (and their kids!), Dave and Suzy Huck (no kids...)... remember, these are all people I went to school with, so this puts an age on them all.

In fact, I went out with Melissa Westberry once, when we were both freshman. She sat next to me in Dr. Welch's Advanced Western Civilization, and I asked her to a movie... we went to see "Indecent Proposal". We had a good time, but didn't go out again. She went on to marry Warren (and in a moment of gooberism, when I saw her on Saturday, I actually said, "Well, hey, its Melissa Westber... er, um, Whittaker!")

Betsy walked by me and smiled, saying "Hey, the grey looks good on you.". I smiled and rolled my eyes. A few minutes later, Dana told me that one of the FarmHouse brothers had changed the trash, and she replied, "Thanks for doing that", to which they answered, "Yes ma'am!".

It was somewhere in this timeframe that I made the most startling discovery of the day... Troy has a Barnes & Noble. The bookstore on campus sold to B&N two years ago, and from what I gather, B&N has bought several college campus bookstores. And when I walked in, I was blown away.


A Barnes & Noble? Proudly brewing Starbucks Coffee? Heck, I'm going back to school...

It was bright, it was vibrant, it was packed, and they even had a coffee cafe there. Its on the 2nd floor of the Adams Student Center, and as I exited the bookstore and walked down the long corridor, I saw the more familiar locations--the big ballroom where Shelby, Wookiee, Heather Howell and I played campus Pictionary (our team, "Green Deoderant Soap", got rooked on a bad call), I saw the large lounge area with the couches where I would take naps as a Freshman while my girlfriend at the time, Katharine Gates, studied, and the kitchen area where I spent tons of evenings at my job for Marriott Catering.

Over the course of the day, I saw very few people I knew, besides the ones already mentioned. I saw a guy named Wally, though I chose not to talk to him. I mean, I guess he's a nice guy and all, but I wasn't all that big on him to begin with, and I didn't want to spend however long it would take to find out about him, tell him about me, when neither of us truly, really cared, only to say "good to see you" and not really mean it.

I saw another guy I knew that worked for the school newspaper, couldn't remember his name, and again, didn't stop for reasons you can re-read in the above paragraph.

At the BCM tent, I didn't see anyone I knew. Well, I take that back, I did see Jennifer McKenzie--now Jennifer Mosley--but we barely spoke at Troy, so I didn't want to bust in on her conversations. I did randomly spot people I thought I knew, thinking of how they used to be, then mentally aging them 10 years, but no one that really excited me to see them.

I did see Joy Johnston at the game, though. She's someone I knew back in Troy, and unlike Wally, she's someone I kinda wished I had known better, and had taken the time to get to know better. We caught up a little bit sitting there in the bleachers, and it was nice to chat for a few.


Joy! So good to see Joy!

All in all, it was a great day for a game, a great day to go back and remember. Marriage and Deuce aside, college was perhaps one of the greatest eras of my life... I love talking about it, I love remembering, and I would do it again in a heartbeat (though there are some relationships I would definately take back...)

Oh, and one final thought... it wouldn't be a Troy football game without the best freakin' college band in the country, the Sound of the South. Million Dollar Band? They suck. There's a reason the band hall of fame is in Troy.

Anyway, if you read The Rise of Troy, chronicling their trouncing of Oklahoma State earlier this year, you'll know that the Sound of the South wouldn't be the same without Sweet Sweetback and his BadA** Song... and Sweet Sweetback was here again, in all his male, velvety pant wearin', colorguard flag wavin' goodness. Cause, it just had to be.


You know, if Sweet Sweetback is actually straight, he's probably a genius, because I'll bet every chick in this band LUVS this guy.

GO TROY!!

My Final Night Alone

In case you missed it, make sure you scroll down to read all about Hillary's SCHIPfest...

So, the Lovely Steph Leann comes back tomorrow (she's on the phone now regaling tales of being lost in Atlanta trying to find their hotel and how scary Baltimore is at night), so I'll get to see my wife after like, ten days.

Which makes tonight my final night as a married bachelor... so after I cleaned up the apartment, I had to go to Wal-Mart... so here's my photojournal of Wal-Mart:


Ah, Hwy 31, on the road to the world's largest discount retailer to buy some medicine for a sore spot on my knee. The windows are down, it feels great outside, and here we go!




The weather is great enough for me to wear my favorite outfit... long sleeve shirt and shorts and sandals.

Notice the Halloween stuff on the right, also known as Treat Street (Trick Street can be found in most downtown areas). Beyond, straight ahead, you'll see Christmas. Yep, its time. I'm sure this has actually been up since July.

Oh, what a credit card world we've become... first Monopoly has a "credit card payment" system, now the game of Life has sold out... use your credit card to pay your debts!! Use cancer cells to fight off your AIDS infection!

One of my favorite parts of any Wal-Mart... the clearance aisle. Most of the time you have to look for it, but its one row full of just crap. Everything, all marked with a big red sticker. Heck, in this one section alone, you can see sporting equipment, an Axe Body Spray package complete with a "She-Devil" rubber ducky, some Spider-man doll, spray paint, on the bottom is a freakin' welding kit (!) and, of course, Metamucil (Berry Burst, no less). Who in the crap is going to buy their laxatives on clearance? Clearance is the right word, I guess.

Finally at home, I noticed it was a bit crisp (I left the screen door open so the Lovely Steph Leann wouldn't whine too much about how bad the apartment smelled), so I put my favorite house shoes on. I bought these about five years ago on a road trip to Montgomery's Disney Store (now closed) with a good lookin' South African (Chantel Els).

Anyway, thats my night! I love having a blogpage!

Hillary: Full of SCHIP

Here's a political commentary. Its about healthcare. I've read, I've listened, and this is what I have to say. Enjoy.

Okay, first of all, let me say this about what I believe. Health care is NOT a right. It is not a constitutional right, it is not something that you are guaranteed as an American, it is not something that you should be given just because you live here. Legally or especially illegally.

I mean, if we go to socialized health care, where are people from Cuba and Canada going to go to get their medical appointments taken care of?

Do I feel some sympathy for the struggling working mother who's trying to make it happen for her three kids, by working two jobs, and trying to keep her kids healthy... sure. I want that family to succeed. But I truly think these families are few and much more far between than you'd think. What I don't want or agree with is me making money for my family, working hard at Starbucks, pushing my way through the company only to have the government (re: Democrats) tell me "Oh, you make too much money now. You need to give a bunch of your money to help other families who don't have healthcare".

In fact, Hillary Clinton, who is a SOCIALIST through and through, has a new program out, called the State Children's Health Insurance Program -- SCHIP -- which was actually created by Slick Willie in 97. And the media will tell you its for the kids, and oh, we need to give money to the poor families and oh, you don't deserve all that stuff you've worked hard for and sacrificed for so you need to give to not just the families themselves, but trust the government to take it and spend it wisely for those poor families and oh the terrible economy and oh Bush hates black people and oh its the strategery to hold the poor families down and oh oh oh...

So, let's review the plan, shall we?

Many of the "poor" kiddies that would be under SCHIP are actually adults. Adults who are already covered by private insurance companies (Alfa, All State, etc). This bill considers anyone under 21 years old as a "child", and will cover those "children" if the family makes up to $82,600 per year. Thats EIGHTY TWO THOUSAND, SIX HUNDRED dollars per year. Thats FOUR HUNDRED percent above the poverty line. If Dad is pulling in $82 and a half per season, and Mom is a stay at home mom, bless him heart, to their four kids, then your tax dollars are going to cover them.

Almost 89% from the families making 300 to 400% above the poverty line have private insurance. These are the very families that SCHIP wants. Thats millions of kids, many of them already out of the house, in college, and in their early 20s, demanding their money from the government.

The old SCHIP bill, as it stands, already has lots of people taking advantage of it. Fourteen states already have a form of this bill in place, and in those states, Investor's Business Daily reports that "Last year, almost 700,000 adults were enrolled in this place designed to help insure children of the working poor. Adults with SCHIP coverage outnumbered children in three states". Six more states even cover childless adults... and some of those states count fetuses as children.

Funny how liberals qualify fetuses as children only when it helps the liberals, but not in an abortion debate.

The new SCHIP bill states that there should be "no federal funding for illegal aliens". But, in the fine print, it also says "states have the option to check for proper documentation or not." Because you know how our government likes to make sure that all immigrants are legal, and have proper methods of doing such a thing now.

Because the federal government offers doctors "payment rates lower than private insurance rates", many doctors opt out. Why take the pay cut? According to the Center for Studying Health System Change, "about 1/5 of physicians... reported accepting no new Medicaid patients in 2004-05, a rate... five times higher that for privately insured patients." SCHIP is an offspring of Medicaid. So, in middle school terms, SCHIP will shrink the collection of doctors who are supposed to be taking part in it. Fewer doctors means more children needing help means long, long wait times means more money out of your pocket to "fix" the problem that was created when the problem of SCHIP was itself instituted.

The Congressional Budget Office tells us that about 60% of the children were covered by private insurance in the year before the program was created. But... the program appears to offer FREE health care to families, so they opt out of their already successful private plans... plans they had probably been affording just fine.

House Democrats (thats Pelosi, Clinton, Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy--just wanted to make sure you know who these people are, in case you hear their names all the time but never put a notion to them) want $50 billion dollars, and at the same time, are running around telling everyon that mean President Bush is cutting funding for children's healthcare. We are now spending $4 billion per year on such programs, but because its not $50, its considered "Cutting".

Democrats also tell us that "don't worry, we have a plan to pay for this... smokers". I don't smoke. Never have. I grew up in a family that did, so I never wanted to be around it... but at the same time, its YOUR right to do so. Its a bar's or restaurant's right to determine if they want smokers in their establishments, and the free market should decide if thats something that will work, not Capitol Hill. To fund SCHIP, all you cigerette smokers will be paying upwards of $1 or more tax, and cigar smokers are looking at a 200% increase or more tax.

Remember, smokers are the same bunch that are being shoved out of bars, restaurants, and in California, private apartments. These are the same bunch that are being constantly bombarded and stigmitized as second class citizens because they smoke... but if you crunch the numbers, we'll need about 22.4 million new smokers in the next 10 years to foot this bill. I don't know about you, but I know a few people who are quitting smoking not for their health, but simply because its too darn expensive.

Oh yeah, the dirty little secret is where this money will come from if all these smokers don't appear over the next decade. Me. You.

And we know the track record on staying in budget for government programs, don't we?

Two words for you: Social. Security. Once people get a taste of the free life, its over. This is an entitlement program, pure and simple. And SCHIP has two ways to feed the entitlement mentality...

First, it creates incentives for states to get as many people as possible covered by SCHIP. In addition to regular payments, the bill would offer states "bonus payments" for levels of enrollment. And as these enrollments get larger, the payouts do too. Secondly, unlike the first version of SCHIP, this one has no "review or renew" clause, as in, a clause that states it must be looked at after a certain amount of time to discuss its failures and successes... nope, once SCHIP as it is today is here, its here. For good. Again.... social security.

If you Google SCHIP, you find not only its Wikipedia entry, which is written from a "SCHIP is going to help our kids, Bush is a mean man who doesn't support it" viewpoint, you'll also see a Wall Street Journal entry which supports what I'm talking about and my research.

As for Hillary, two things must be mentioned... be wary of anything from "MoveOn.org" or "MediaMatters.org". MoveOn was created in the mid-90s, during the Bill Clinton impeachment procedings. It's original purpose was to "help America MOVE ON from the current state of our government and MOVE ON past this silly Clinton perjury charge". I wish I were kidding.

Oh, and Media Matters? Its a supposed site that reports "an unbiased look at what you don't see in the media..." They supposedly review Conservative talk show programs like Limbaugh, Hannity, Cavuto and so forth, and tell you "the real truth". Click on over to Media Matters website and you'll see two things there... the Rush Limbaugh "phony soldiers" story and the story of little Graeme Frost (I believe its pronounced "Graham")

As for Rush, this is proof positive that truly, the elite Democrats and libera media think... well, you are an idiot. Seriously. You as an American are a freakin' moron, especially in the South with your two teeth, Skynyrd in the 4x4 and a Rebel flag over your back windshield. They must think you are stupid if they believe that none of you don't actually know what happened, what Rush said, or that if you cared, you wouldn't know how to find out. No, just take Media Matters at their word. Whatever they tell you, just believe that. Moron.

Which brings me to Graeme Frost, the precious little 12 year old who, along with his little sister, rely on the SCHIP program to provide money for the treatment they need to assist with injuries sustained in a recent car crash. The Democrats wheel little Graeme out to the nation, an hour after President Bush gives his radio address as to why he opposes SCHIP in its present state, to give a Democratic response about how much he and his family needs the SCHIP program to survive. This kid is TWELVE.

This is, of course, the latest in a long line of ill people whom the Democrats have trodded in frong of the cameras to try to shovel their crap to you.

Too bad the kid got sick, while his family had no healthcare, huh? Yeah, but I guess its a good thing the Frost family lives in a Greystone type neighborhood in Baltimore with a house estimated at somewhere around $400 or more. Its a good thing that the Frost family sends both of their kids to a private school, one of the best in Baltimore, that cost about $20,000 per year. Yeah, too bad Mr. Frost only makes $45 or so per year, but hey, its good that they own their house, and he owns his own business, and Mrs. Frost is employed in a medical position that doesn't offer healthcare.

So, it seems to me, that while I'm happy that the Frosts are doing so well, and I think they worked for all they have achieved, that perhaps they should make some decisions. I'm not one to judge them on putting expensive private schools and expensive neighborhood homes and owning your own business ahead of paying for healthcare for the family. I read an article that puts a monthly premium for a family like theirs in a neighborhood like theirs at about $650 per month, with $0 deductible and a $20 co-pay. Perhaps they cant get that rate now, since Graeme is injured, but perhaps that should have been a discussion early. Just don't expect me to pay for it now.

Bottom line is, if you say SCHIP too fast, it sounds just like what it is. A pile of SCHIP. Don't be fooled by the liberal spin on this, and how its going to help our children... its only going to help Hillary achieve her goals of a federalized socialistic healthcare plan, and its going to help millions of families who could do better do what Democrats love for them to do--depend on the government, who in turn, takes from YOU to give to THEM.

As a final thought, I went about 10 years without healthcare. I couldn't have afforded it... with the lifestyle that I led. I felt relatively healthy, and always have been, so I chose to put school and other things ahead of health insurance. You say "but you were too old by then", and I reply "Under the SCHIP plan, part of this 10 years without healthcare would have been covered by SCHIP".

Its by God's grace I didn't get sick, or worse, get into an accident that would have caused me catastrophic medical repercussions, but if I had, then not one single time would I have expected the government to pay for it. I would have moped and regretted the decision to not have healthcare, but I wouldn't have reached for a handout.

ps... if you are truly intrigued by what you've heard about Rush, and the "phony soldiers" comment, then please ask... but ONLY if you are just too lazy to find out the truth and know that I'll know the answer, not if you are totally believing, without question, because MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Jon Stewart said so "Rush called our soldiers who speak out about the war phony!!" and "Rush called a decorated veteran a suicide bomber because he spoke out against the war!!". If that's what your thinking, I have no reason to debate you because... well, you aren't very smart. But God loves you too. I'm sure of it.

A Couple of Hours of Late Night Football

It's 930pm on a Saturday night... Stephanie is in Baltimore... I'm watching like, four football games at one time... here's how it goes...

931pm.... Holy cow.... last week, I flipped it on Versus (the channel formerly known as "The Outdoor Channel" just in time to see Colorado beat Oklahoma on a last second field goal. Now, on Versus? Stanford leads the #1 team in the land (according to one poll) USC by one point with one minute left. If I'm the programmer at Versus, I'm loving my job.

Forget Appy State over Michigan... Appy State was a good, championship team over a over-ranked Wolverine team that really wasn't that good. This is Stanford. They suck. But not tonight. Because Stanford just intercepted the ball, they take a knee, and they win it. On USC's home field. And USC's coach, Pete Carroll, looks like he just got kicked in the back with a steel toed boot. There's a shot of some sorority chick crying... trying moving to the SEC.

The sideline reporter tries to talk to Jim Harbaugh, Stanford's coach and former Chicago Bear player (I've even got his football card), but Harbaugh, jumping up and down and running, tells the reporter "No! Talk to the QB! It's his night!"

This is why I love college football.

940pm... Back over to Florida/LSU, just in time to see LSU score a touchdown. As much as I'm enjoying Florida leading the game, I'm in fear of the 2nd half... LSU was struggling with Tulane last week, until the 3rd quarter, when they rolled. Now, Florida is no Tulane, but LSU is in fact LSU.

943pm... Over to ESPN, where Missouri is beating Nebraska 17 to 3. Crud. I picked Nebraska in the Deuce Football Championship competition. Oh me of little faith...

945pm... Uh oh, we got ourselves a game on ESPN2. Rutgers leads Cincinnati 20-14... and already, I've seen Stanford's defeat of USC on three different recap/clips. Wow, sideline reporter Stacy Dales looks rough.

946pm... Okay, whats happening on Fox Sports? Texas A&M just kicked a field goal and now leads Oklahoma State 24-20.

946pm... TOOOOUUUCCCHHHDOOOOWWWWNNN GGGAAAATTTOOORRSSSS!!!!!!! Tim Tebow is a freakin' beast. Did you know when it rains in The Swamp, Tim Tebow doesn't get wet? The rain gets Tim Tebow'd.

947pm... Over to ESPNU, where... Maine is taking on Hofstra? Where the heck is Hofstra? I wonder if they give rookies at ESPN games like Maine/Hofstra, or if its a punishment. Like, three late meetings, and you get a Maine game. Another blunder and you end up with a William & Mary/Wofford bout. It IS homecoming at Hofstra, which is ranked #12 in the Championship Subdivision (re: Division I-AA) arena of play. We'll check on this one... later.

950pm.... Don't look now! Notre Dame Fightin' Catholics are leading UCLA in the 3rd!

1009pm... So, for the second time, LSU's kicker shanked it. Again. Does this guy come from Florida State? Lovin' in. Florida up 24-14.

1010pm... They showed an ad for the Bruce Springsteen interview on 60 Minutes. So, I've heard some of his new album, "Magic". Its really not very good, but... BUT... he sings an anti-war song, so naturally, he's this musical genius and all the critics love him and he's so great and a legend and so on and so on. What if he sang a pro-military song? What if he sang a song called "The Terrorists, the Enemy"? It would be declared a bad effort, a bad CD, a misstep by an American legend. I'll stop before I go run over a liberal with Steph's car.

1013pm... On ESPN, its halftime in the Nebraska/Mizzou game, which means three things. 1) Rece Davis... 2) Mark May... and 3) Lou Holtz. I really like Rece Davis, and I've alreaydy admitted that the ESPN College Football theme song makes me giggle. I think Mark May is kinda cool, he'd be fun to hang with during a game. Lou Holtz? He blubblers. I'm not sure what he's even talking about most of the time, and I'm pretty sure that Rece and Mark doesn't either.

1015pm... LSU is driving... down at the 3 yard line.

1016pm... I have to pee

1017pm... 4th and 3. *#&&$. Touchdown LSU. I say again, *#&&$.

1018pm... Cut to the sidelines, Tim Tebow is staring at the playbook. Oh, he's not reading it. Tim Tebow doesnt read books. He just stares at it until it gives him what he wants, out of fear.

1020pm.. Somehow I fumbled when clicking channels, and ended up on Trinity Broadcasting. I would have flipped away quickly, except Third Day is on, singing "God of Wonders", and some chick is singing with them. I'm actually trying to figure out who the chick is... could that be Christy Nockel, from Watermark? Aside from my wife, natch, Christy Nockel might have one of the sweetest, most melodic voices ever. Ever. And now, David Nassar is speaking. But... Florida is playing LSU.

1023pm... So, Florida got the kickoff, ran it back, but it looks like he might have run out of bounds. The refs were reviewing it, then declared he didn't go out, and subsequent replays show that he didn't. However, Les Miles, LSU's coach, tossed the challenge flag. Which means if this isn't overturned, LSU loses their final timeout. I'm diggin' it.

1026pm... This call is still being reviewed... and its a crap call. His foot was not out of bounds... (watching the replay...) okay, it was slightly. Darn it.

1027pm... Good news... not only did Troy win, beating Florida International, but Hofstra's up on Maine 14-0.

1035pm... LSU went for it on 4th, and they crossed the yellow line. Not that the yellow line means real life, but its close. They got it...

1043pm... And now LSU is driving, inside the 5. And Steph calls me. I love my wife, but my loving wife calls me from her Baltimore business trip not at halftime, not in the 3rd quarter, but with less than 90 seconds left in a 24-21 ball game. I love my wife.

1046pm... And touchdown LSU. #($@**@. I think Stephanie jinxed me.

1047pm... Hofstra is still up on Maine 14-0, with less than a minute in the 2nd quarter to go.

1049pm... And Colt David, the kicker for La State, puts it through. LSU, up by 4, with about 45 seconds to go. Colt? What kind of name is that? Colt McCoy for Texas, Colt Brennan for Hawaii, Colt David for LSU. Why Colt? Why not go Stallion McCoy, or Clydesdale Brennan? Thats a much more powerful name... what about Colt Dollar? That just looks stupid. Kinda like this game.

1052pm... Cincinnati beats Rutgers. My night just gets worse and worse. Next your going to tell me that Nebraska is getting beaten badly by Missouri... wait. Crap.

1053pm... 26 seconds remain. Tim Tebow should just kill someone with his bare hands.

1058pm... I hate LSU. Kinda always have. Especially now.

1059pm... Final score, LSU 28, Florida 24. At least Hofstra's up, 21-3. G'night.